UC Berkeley — Electrical Engineering & Computer Science

Earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering & Computer Science from UC Berkeley, one of the top engineering programs in the world. This wasn't just about the degree—it was a formative experience that shaped my identity as a builder and lifelong learner.

Reflection

In today's tech industry, a formal four-year engineering degree isn't as necessary as it once was. Experience matters more than credentials, and many of the most successful people in our field are self-taught. I completely agree with that perspective.

But that doesn't diminish what my Berkeley journey means to me.

I think of myself as a builder. I enjoy learning for learning's sake. Even if I don't directly apply everything I learned in my classes, it was genuinely fun to learn it. The intellectual curiosity that Berkeley cultivated has stayed with me throughout my career.

Being an engineer is part of my identity. Building things, making things, and watching them run—it's deeply satisfying. And the fact that I can call myself an engineer means I understand how bridges are made, why concrete works the way it does, how systems come together. It's just fun to know how things work.

What It Means to Me

A Trophy for Hard Work

I look at my degree as an achievement—a trophy representing the hard work it took to get there. I earned it.

Confidence Builder

Getting through Berkeley gave me the confidence to realize that if I can achieve this, there's not much out there that's too challenging. It built a foundation of belief that I can handle most challenges that come my way.

Lifelong Friendships & Network

I made lasting friendships and built a network of incredible people that I still connect with today.

Learning from Legends

I got to study with famous professors, Nobel laureates, and people who literally created the technologies we work with today. That's not something you can replicate anywhere else.

The Big Game

And yes—it's fun to be able to talk shit about Stanford during the Big Game. Go Bears.

Insights & Learnings

•Formal education isn't the only path, but for those who take it, the journey itself has value beyond the credential.
•Learning for learning's sake is worthwhile—not everything needs to be immediately applicable.
•Surrounding yourself with brilliant people raises your own bar.
•Confidence comes from proving to yourself that you can do hard things.
•The most valuable classes might be the ones outside your discipline—breadth requirements can become career-defining skills.
•Understanding how people communicate across cultures is just as important as technical skills.
•A degree doesn't entitle you to success—grit and continuous learning do.

Anecdotes

Linguistics 101: The Unexpected Career Skill

Surprisingly, some of the classes that have stuck with me most throughout my career weren't engineering classes at all.

To fulfill a humanities breadth requirement, I took Linguistics 101. Some friends were taking it and I thought it might be fun to take a class with non-engineering folks and work on projects outside the CS lab.

What I didn't expect was how much it would shape my career. I learned about how people communicate, how different cultures have different communication styles, and how language influences the way people think. I learned about different argumentative styles—how a direct Western style can seem offensive or rude in cultures that favor more indirect, Eastern approaches. How people structure their communications, how they build to a point.

This has been incredibly useful throughout my consulting career, working with different cultures and folks across geographies. It's one of those things I never would have predicted—a breadth requirement in linguistics becoming one of my most valuable professional tools.

Organizational Behavior: Understanding How Business Works

Another breadth requirement that paid unexpected dividends was an Organizational Behavior class at the Haas School of Business.

It was fun to learn about how different businesses behave, the cultures they espouse, and what makes them successful. We studied case studies about entrepreneurship, Fortune 500 companies, and how organizations achieve things. The psychology of decision-making. A primer on how marketing works, how brands are built, how managing a brand creates impact.

This helped me understand how to adapt to different companies I work with, understand the business, and understand key drivers for stakeholders. Another class outside my engineering discipline that taught me lessons I've carried throughout my career.

Advice to Students

I tell my kids that a four-year college degree—or more—doesn't guarantee success. It's about the grit it takes to achieve what you want to achieve.

If academics is your thing and you want to measure yourself against others, go ahead and try for a top-tier school. But graduating from a prestigious institution doesn't entitle you to success. It doesn't give you an advantage over someone who works really hard to get where they want to go.

The key is how you apply what you've learned. The grit to learn and master whatever you want to master—whether through a formal four-year college education or learning a trade. That's what leads to long-term success.

Don't feel like you're owed anything because you achieved a degree from a specific school. Earn it every day.

A life-changing experience I would do all over again.